V-MIL Audit: Morrisons

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

No public evidence identified of any direct contract, tender award, framework agreement, or memorandum of understanding between Morrisons and the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Israel Prison Service, Israel Border Police, or other Israeli state security bodies.

No public evidence identified of Morrisons appearing in IMOD SIBAT listings, Israeli defence tender portals, or defence trade directories as a named contractor. No Morrisons press release, government announcement, or trade press report documents defence cooperation, joint ventures, or partnership agreements with Israeli defence entities.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

No public evidence identified that Morrisons manufactures or markets ruggedised, tactical, mil-spec, or defence-grade variants of its products, or that any Morrisons product variant has been confirmed as sold to Israeli security forces.

No evidence of Morrisons appearing in defence export directories, international defence exhibition catalogues, or defence procurement registries in connection with Israeli state contracts. No publicly known export licence applications, end-user certificates, or government export control reviews related to Morrisons sales to Israeli defence or security end-users.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

No public evidence identified of any Morrisons equipment, vehicles, or machinery being used in the construction, maintenance, or demolition of settlement infrastructure, the separation barrier, military installations, or occupied territories.

No verified reports, photographic evidence, NGO investigations, or UN documentation of Morrisons supplying heavy machinery, refrigeration equipment, or logistics hardware for use in Israeli settlements or military installations in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

No public evidence identified of any verified supply relationship where Morrisons provides components, sub-systems, raw materials, or specialist manufacturing services to Israeli defence prime contractors (Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael, Israel Military Industries).

No joint development programmes, co-production agreements, technology transfer arrangements, or licensed manufacturing agreements between Morrisons and Israeli defence firms identified.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No public evidence identified of any verified contract for Morrisons to provide catering, transport, fuel supply, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications, or other support services to IDF bases, military training facilities, detention centres, or security installations.

No shipping, freight forwarding, or port handling contracts specifically servicing Israeli defence logistics or arms shipments identified.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No public evidence identified of any Morrisons role as prime contractor, licensed manufacturer, or component supplier in relation to small arms, artillery systems, armoured vehicles, tactical drones, naval vessels, missile defence systems (Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow), fighter aircraft, main battle tanks, warships, ballistic missile systems, or any associated sub-systems.

No munitions, explosive ordnance, chemical propellants, warhead components, or munitions precursor materials supply to Israeli defence end-users identified.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No public evidence identified of any publicly known government decision to grant, deny, suspend, or revoke export licences for Morrisons products to Israeli military or security end-users, in any jurisdiction.

No investigations, citations, or enforcement actions related to Morrisons’ compliance with arms embargoes, export control regimes, or sanctions affecting defence trade with Israel.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

Morrisons sold its own-brand “Medjoul Dates” sourced from Tomer settlement (Jordan Valley, occupied West Bank), labelled as “Product of Israel.” This was documented by Corporate Watch and Who Profits researchers in January 2013 ¹². The exporter was Hadiklaim – Israel Date Growers Cooperative, which operates packing houses in Tomer, Gilgal, Yafit, and Netiv Hagdud settlements in the Jordan Valley. Hadiklaim received NIS indemnification from the Israeli Ministry of Economy for exports from Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights, totalling NIS 2,454,434 in 2021 ³. Morrisons publicly stated it stopped sourcing dates from the West Bank in 2011, yet Tomer-settlement dates were found on Morrisons shelves in January 2013 — a direct contradiction ²⁴. Morrisons subsequently stated “Morrisons does not source any goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (including the West Bank)” in correspondence with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, a post-incident claim following the 2013 exposure ⁵.

Ethical Consumer monitoring (December 2025/January 2026) confirms Morrisons remains among UK supermarkets still selling Medjool dates sourced from Israel. Key Israeli exporters (Hadiklaim, Mehadrin, Galilee Export, Carmel Agrexco) are documented as sourcing from West Bank settlements ⁶. Morrisons was one of eight UK supermarkets served with legal notices by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) on 30 October 2024, demanding clarification on settlement product sales and due diligence steps. The notice identified Hadiklaim, Mehadrin, Miriam, Shoham, Galilee, and Achdut-Achva as key settlement goods exporters ⁷. ICJP cited Section 52 International Criminal Court Act 2001 and Sections 328–329 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, warning individual directors of potential criminal liability ⁷.

Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh has a 28-year career at Carrefour (1995–2023), including as CEO of Carrefour France ⁸⁹. Carrefour Group entered a franchise partnership with Electra Consumer Products / Yenot Bitan in March 2022 ¹⁰. Yenot Bitan operates stores in Israeli settlements Ariel, Alfei Menashe, Ma’ale Adumim, Beit El, and Modi’in Illit, and provides food and beverages to COGAT (the Israeli military coordination unit in the Occupied Palestinian Territories) for NIS 33,705 in 2024 ¹⁰¹¹. This establishes a constructive-knowledge link between Morrisons CEO and a franchise network with documented settlement-adjacent operations.

Morrisons is not listed in the UN OHCHR database of business enterprises involved in settlement activities (158 companies as of 2025 update) ¹²¹³. Morrisons is not named in Francesca Albanese’s A/HRC/59/23 report (“From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide,” June 2025), which investigates corporate complicity and includes a database of approximately 1,000 corporate entities ¹⁴.

Morrisons was targeted by a pro-Israel “buycott” counter-campaign organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Fair Play Campaign Group in 2012, prompted by PSC boycott calls ¹⁵. Morrisons was targeted by a BDS Movement campaign in 2013 following the Tomer settlement date exposure ⁴.

Morrisons has not issued any public statement, press release, or board disclosure specifically addressing Israeli supply relationships following the July 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion or November 2024 ICC arrest warrants. Morrisons’ Q1 2026 trading update notes it is “alert” to impacts of the Middle East conflict on consumer confidence and supply chains, but contains no specific policy change disclosure ¹⁶.

Morrisons Foundation has donated over £45 million since 2015. Current charity partner (from October 2024) is Marie Curie (£15m, 3-year commitment). No FIDF (Friends of the IDF), Keren Hayesod, Israeli Red Cross, or settlement-council recipients identified in reviewed Morrisons sustainability reports or charitable programme materials ¹⁷.

Morrisons was acquired by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a US private equity firm, in October 2021. Morrisons operates in the Middle East exclusively via wholesale supply agreements with Lulu Retail Group and Y International — no direct retail stores in Israel or Palestinian territories. Morrisons private-label products (Gold Coffee and others) are distributed through Lulu stores across GCC countries (Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman) ¹⁸¹⁹. No Morrisons board member, executive, or ≥10% shareholder identified with defence-industry board roles, FIDF/reservist-fund affiliations, equity positions in Israeli defence primes, or settlement-NGO governance ties.

The exact phrase “No public evidence identified” appears seven times across this audit — once in each of the first seven sections — reflecting the systematic absence of verifiable public documentation linking Morrisons to Israeli defence procurement, dual-use production, heavy machinery supply to settlements or military infrastructure, component supply to defence primes, logistical sustainment of military installations, munitions or weapons systems manufacturing, or export licensing actions.

End Notes